1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a display and input device, and, more precisely, to a combined display and input device used for equipment incorporating a number of independant functions, such as copiers and facsimile machines.
2. Discussion of Background
Conventional electronic equipment processing picture image information for various purposes, such as copiers and printers, are assembled and used as discrete and independent single devices. However, with current advances in technology, combined equipment which incorporates these multiple functions is now coming into practical use.
However, most of the conventional combined display and input devices (control panels) used to operate various modes, such as the copy mode and the facsimile mode, in this kind of combined equipment are button-key systems which have rows of input keys that differ in purpose for each operating mode of the combined equipment. Also, most of the conventional displays are designed to display the required input operation information for the operation by switching ON and OFF a multiplicity of LEDS.
For this reason, when using this conventional equipment, in the copy mode, for instance, the inputted operation information for copy magnification and the number of copies is not displayed on the face of the control panel. Thus, the operator of this equipment has to carry out the required input operation for this input operation information from memory.
Such equipment causes problems such as not obtaining the copy picture images of the desired magnification, or not obtaining the desired number of copy picture images due to operator error. When such problems occur, the input operation must be restarted.
This kind of problem occurs, not only in the copy mode, but also in other operations, such as in the printer mode and the like which accompany the magnification alteration operation.
As described above, in prior art equipment, there was a problem of not being able to achieve effective application of the equipment, that is, the operation could not check the inputted operation information when carrying out a complex input operation, and re-input operations where required.